The present invention relates to the general field of swimming pool accessories and is particularly concerned with a swimming pool covering structure.
Swimming pools are already relatively common in most industrialized countries, especially in suburban areas. Recent trends towards the so-called leisure society and increased awareness about the benefits of physical exercises, have led to a concurrent trend towards purchasing of home swimming pools, both of the above and inground type.
Unfortunately, residential pools, whose number has been growing at a steadily increasing rate are linked to the death by drowning of young children as well as adults. Indeed, it has long been recognized that there can be danger, especially for young children, from having an inground or above ground swimming pool on one""s property. Although pool related accidents are a known fact, every year children, pets and older individuals still drown in unmonitored swimming pools.
There has been a well recognized need to procure a safety mechanism ensuring that swimming pools, and particularly residential swimming pools are safe. Accordingly, there has long been a need for a swimming pool safety device that can prevent individuals, especially children from accidentally entering the area of and drowning in a swimming pool. Experience has shown that neither fences nor the commonly employed fabric pool covers can prevent access to such pools or offer protection to those who accidentally fall down into them.
Most conventional swimming pools covers are manufactured out of a sheet of plastic material which is slightly larger in length and width than the swimming pool over which it is to be disposed. In use, the swimming pool cover is suspended over the desired swimming pool so that the other periphery of the swimming pool cover rests outside the swimming pool and preferably on a flat surface, such as the top surface of a pool edge or deck.
The sheet of plastic material is typically maintained in place over the swimming pool by disposing weighted objects, such as sand bags or water bags, on top of the periphery of the swimming pool cover. Although widely used, such prior art plastic pool covers of the type described above, experience numerous disadvantages.
For example, conventional swimming pool covers are typically heavy and bulky thereby rendering the placement of the swimming pool cover over a swimming pool a time consuming and physically strenuous task. Also, some prior art swimming pool covers tend to collect large quantities of water over prolonged periods of time. As a consequence, the collected water tends to weigh down the swimming pool cover making its removal even more difficult.
Another main drawback associated with prior art swimming pool covers relate to their anchoring structures for anchoring the swimming pool cover in a substantially taut state over the swimming pool. Indeed, in order to be efficient, most swimming pool covers must be stretched relatively tightly across the top of the swimming pool so that the material of the covers are taut or maintained under tension. In order to accomplish this, most prior art swimming pool covers require a number of particularly complicated anchoring devices. Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved swimming pool safety cover.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved swimming pool safety cover. Advantages of the present invention include that the proposed swimming pool cover reduces the risks of having an individual, in particular a child, accidentally or otherwise fall and drown into an unmonitored pool.
Also, the proposed swimming pool safety cover is specifically designed so as to be easily installable and retractable over and from various types of swimming pools, such as rigid and inflatable above-ground swimming pools as well as in-ground swimming pools through a set of quick, easy and ergonomic steps without requiring special tooling or manual dexterity.
Furthermore, the proposed swimming pool cover is designed so as to be installable on most conventional swimming pools with reduced risks of damaging the latter. Also, the proposed swimming pool cover is designed so as to be mountable over swimming pools without considerably reducing their overall aesthetical aspect thereof.
Still further, the proposed swimming pool cover is designed so as to allow water to drip therethrough while still offering adequate retention characteristics for an individual falling thereon. Also, the proposed swimming pool cover is designed so as to be manufacturable using conventional forms manufacturing so as to provide of a swimming pool cover that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a swimming pool covering structure for covering a top surface of a volume of liquid contained within a swimming pool, the swimming pool having a pool bottom wall and a pool peripheral wall extending from the pool bottom wall, the pool peripheral wall defining a peripheral wall inner surface and a peripheral wall top edge, the swimming pool also defining an outer structural component positioned outwardly relative to the peripheral wall top edge in a substantially fixed relationship relative to the pool peripheral wall, the swimming pool covering structure comprising: a substantially flexible covering section, the covering section being configured and sized for extending substantially across the top surface, the covering section defining a covering section outer peripheral edge; a substantially flexible anchoring section, the anchoring section being configured and sized for extending peripherally and outwardly from the covering section, the anchoring section defining an anchoring section inner peripheral edge and an anchoring section outer peripheral edge, the covering and anchoring sections being separable from each other about a separation segment; a covering-to-anchoring section releasable attachment means extending between the covering and anchoring sections about the separation segment for releasably attaching the covering and anchoring sections together about the separation segment; anchoring means attached to the anchoring segment for anchoring the anchoring segment to the outer structural component.
Conveniently, the covering section defines a covering section central segment and a covering section flange positioned peripherally relative to the covering section central segment, the covering section flange extending from the covering section central segment to the covering section outer peripheral edge.
Typically, the swimming pool covering structure further comprises a releasable locking means operatively coupled to the covering-to-anchoring section releasable attachment means for releasably locking the covering section to the anchoring section.
Conveniently, the swimming pool covering structure further comprises a protective means positioned adjacent the covering-to-anchoring section releasable attachment means for substantially protecting the covering-to-anchoring section releasable attachment means against environmental agents.
Typically, the protective means is positioned, configured and sized so as to releasably cover the covering-to-anchoring section releasable attachment means; whereby the protective means also acts as a contact prevention means for at least partially preventing contact between an intended user and the covering-to-anchoring section releasable attachment means and as an esthetic enhancing means for enhancing the visual aspect of the swimming pool covering structure.
In at least one embodiment of the invention, the swimming pool covering structure further comprises a solar membrane attached thereto so as to extend between the covering section and the top surface of the volume of liquid when the covering section is deployed over the top surface of the volume of liquid.
Typically, the anchoring section defines an anchoring section proximal segment located proximally relative to the covering section and an anchoring component distal segment located distally relative to the covering section; the anchoring section proximal and distal segments being foldable relative to each other about a proximal-to-distal segment fold line; the anchoring section being configured and sized so as to be folded about the proximal-to-distal segment fold line with the anchoring section distal segment located below the peripheral wall top edge when the anchoring section is attached to the outer structural component.
In accordance with the present invention, there is also provided, in combination, a swimming pool and a swimming pool covering structure for covering a top surface of a volume of liquid containable within the swimming pool, the swimming pool having a pool bottom wall and a pool peripheral wall extending from the pool bottom wall, the pool peripheral wall defining a peripheral wall inner surface and a peripheral wall top edge, the swimming pool also defining an outer structural component positioned outwardly relative to the peripheral wall top edge in a substantially fixed relationship relative to the pool peripheral wall, the swimming pool covering structure comprising: a substantially flexible covering section, the covering section being configured and sized for extending substantially across the top surface, the covering section defining a covering section outer peripheral edge; a substantially flexible anchoring section, the anchoring section being configured and sized for extending peripherally and outwardly from the covering section, the anchoring section defining an anchoring section inner peripheral edge and an anchoring section outer peripheral edge, the covering and anchoring section being separable from each other about a separation segment; a covering-to-anchoring section releasable attachment means extending between the covering and anchoring sections about the separation segment for releasably attaching the covering and anchoring sections together about the separation segment; anchoring means attached to the anchoring segment for anchoring the anchoring segment to the outer structural component.